Commenting
on the Song of Solomon, Latter-day Saint scholar Victor Ludlow wrote:
Although doctrinally not enlightening, the
book can be appreciated through two avenues of study.
One can study the work as a collection of
love ballads. The separation of the ballads and the identification of the
singers (he, she, or a group of observers) are not clearly marked, especially
in the King James Version. However, other translations, including the Revised Standard
Version and the Jerusalem Bible, are quite helpful in assisting with this
problem. Although quite different from love songs today, these ballads are
authentic examples of oriental poetry. They vividly depict the love between a
man and a woman. Open and descriptive, but never vulgar, they express the
tender, emotional feelings between lovers. Using many images and comparisons,
they describe the physical attractions the man and his maiden find in each
other. Excitement, anxiety, loneliness, and other emotions are also portrayed
by the woman and her lover. With simple innocence, these love poems entice us
toward these oriental lovers, as we see them through their own eyes and hearts.
A second study of the Song of Solomon could
be to consider it as an allegory or representation of God’s love for Israel (Jewish
interpretation) or for the Church (Christian viewpoint). Latter-day Saints in
particular have reasons to identify with this allegory. First, whether the
maiden represents Israel or the Church, one should recognize that not every
Israelite or Christian can claim this symbolized pure love from God—it is
reserved for the covenant Israelite and the member of Christ’s true church.
Both these titles should apply to Latter-day Saints, and thus they should feel
welcomed in the love and embrace of Christ. Secondly, there is one description
in the Doctrine and Covenants to identify the restored Church of Jesus Christ.
This description is found at the end of the
poem in Song of Solomon 6:10-13. In verse two, it is asked: “Who is she that looketh forth as the
morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with
banners?” This is answered in the inspired dedicatory prayer at the Kirtland
Temple recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 109:73, where “she” is identified with
Christ’s restored church, which will “come forth out of the wilderness of
darkness, and shine forth fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as
an army with banners.” Continuing with the biblical image, Joseph Smith adds that
she will be “adorned as a bride for that day” when the Lord would unveil the
heavens, transforms the earth, and appear in glory. (D&C 109:74.) Further
references in the Doctrine and Covenants to the Song of Solomon are sections
5:14 and 105:31, where the maiden is again identified with Christ’s restored church
and its hosts of members who are sanctified in preparation for the Millennium .
. .One other reference to the maiden in Song of Solomon as the restored Church
is found in Revelation 12:1-7. Here John describes a woman appearing in the
last days with the sun and the moon. He records that she would deliver her
child and prevail over Satan and that she is “the church of God, who had been
delivered from her pains, and brought forth the kingdom of our God and his
Christ.” (JST Rev. 12:7.) Compare Isaiah’s description of these events in
Isaiah 66:5-13, where he records that suddenly Zion will be delivered by a
woman and that she would draw Israel to her breasts.
Although the Song of Solomon appears to be
simple love poetry, one can draw from it comparisons to spiritual matters, just
as one relates moral and spiritual meaning to other allegories, parables, and
stories of the Bible. These love ballads can be appreciated for their own
intrinsic and poetic values, and they can also be expanded and applied to the
Lord’s descriptions of his restored church in the last days. (Victor L. Ludlow,
Unlocking the Old Testament [Salt
Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1981], 142-44)
What I found
to be interesting about the above is that Ludlow, notwithstanding his not
finding Song of Solomon to be doctrinally enlightening, he does find the book
to be of some importance for Latter-day Saints; furthermore, Ludlow affirms the
importance of modern translations of the Bible (the RSV and JB). This is a contrast
to the more extreme view of Bruce McConkie and others who once stated that “the
Song of Solomon is biblical trash—it is not inspired writing.”
Further Reading
Dana M.
Pike, "Reading
the Song of Solomon as a Latter-day Saint," Religious Educator 15, no. 2 (2014): 91–113.
